Escaped 'lion' identified: After a 911 caller reported a lion on the loose in Norfolk, Va., police called the Virginia Zoo to make sure all predatory African cats were accounted for. They were. It seems the concerned citizen mistook an off-leash Labradoodle with an unusual haircut for the king of the jungle. Here, zoo executive director Greg Brockheim poses with the scary beast, named Charles the Monarch.

Into the burn zone: The Princes Highway disappears into blazing trees and billowing smoke at Deans Gap in New South Wales. Up to 30 wildfires were raging out of control amid a heat wave in Australia.

Photo: Nsw Rural Fire Service, AFP/Getty Images

Into the burn zone: The Princes Highway disappears into blazing...

Into the burn zone: The Princes Highway disappears into blazing... Photo-4006403.54888 - SFGate

Image 9 of 18

Just because I resemble Jabba the Hutt doesn't mean I'm fat: So I ate like 47 flies for breakfast. They're protein! And by the way, your fingers aren't helping. (An African bullfrog is weighed for the Dresden Zoo stocktaking.)

Photo: Jens Meyer, Associated Press

Just because I resemble Jabba the Hutt doesn't mean I'm fat: So I...

Just because I resemble Jabba the Hutt doesn't mean I'm... Photo-4006376.54888 - SFGate

Image 10 of 18

Hummer bummer: Even from a distance, American Robby Gordon (far right) and his co-driver look dejected after flipping their Hummer during Stage 4 of the Dakar 2013 between Nazca and Arequipa, Peru. The mishap left Gordon almost six hours behind the leader.

Photo: Franck Fife, AFP/Getty Images

Hummer bummer: Even from a distance, American Robby Gordon (far...

Hummer bummer: Even from a distance, American Robby Gordon (far... Photo-4006404.54888 - SFGate

Refuge under the pier: Tammy Holmes and her grandchildren take refuge under a jetty as a wildfire rages around them in the Tasmanian town of Dunalley, Australia. All survived the blaze, which destroyed 90 homes.

Photo: Tim Holmes, Associated Press

Refuge under the pier: Tammy Holmes and her grandchildren take...

Refuge under the pier: Tammy Holmes and her grandchildren take... Photo-4006409.54888 - SFGate

Blackout Nazarene: A Catholic devotee who fainted during a raucous procession of the centuries-old Black Nazarene statue is crowd-surfed to an ambulance in Manila. Throngs poured into the Philippine capital to see the icon of Christ, which many believe can perform miracles.